Stuffed toy, blanket and backpack combination

ABSTRACT

A stuffed toy product combined with an attached blanket, which can be carried like a backpack. The stuffed toy&#39;s frontal midsection acts as a storage compartment for the blanket which when inside this compartment is covered by a securely fastened belly flap. Although the blanket takes up significant surface area on the stuffed toy it does not affect the structural stability of the toy when removed for use. The aspect of the toy&#39;s use as a backpack is primarily in form and fashion for the purpose of carrying and or transporting the stuffed toy itself.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED MATERIAL

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM, LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a blanket and stuffed toy combination. More particularly, the present invention concerns a stuff toy and blanket combination with the ability to be carried on the back of a child like a backpack.

Stuffed toys play an important role in the psychological development of many children. Numerous studies have been done to address the positive impact of items such as stuffed toys and blankets on children. The general consensus is that many children use these items as security mechanisms as they navigate the transitory stages of early childhood development.

There are countless stuffed toy products on the market today. These toys range in scope from cartoon characters to animals and even replicas of celebrities. The wide range of stuffed toy products begins to narrow exponentially when the element of a combined blanket is added to the product. The prior art offers examples in U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,267 which is a toy and blanket combination in which the body of the toy is the blanket itself having its upper torso and lower torso intact. This usage while creative is limited in its use as a toy thing and blanket simultaneously.

In other prior art such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,633 the storage of the blanket comprises the body of the toy. This particular rendition allows the child to have more utility of the upper portion of the toy thing while blanket is in use. However, the use of the apparatus as a full toy thing when the blanket is in use is limited.

Children of pre-school age need for nursery a toy for playtime, one storybook for story time and a blanket for naptime. Parents who have to carry multiple items or have other children to take care of may have great difficulty keeping up with these items, especially in the times when they are rushing.

It is the desire here to begin a new perspective on the purpose and utility of a backpack by focusing on the nursery school children who have no need to carry numerous items, thus eliminating the need and necessity to craft into this backpack apparatus a holding space for numerous items that can get quite heavy.

There have been countless renditions of backpacks for children manufactured. In general, the renderings have been quite similar in part and parcel in regards to the backpack's functionality. Backpacks for children in the past art range from the more conservative renditions as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,549 to the more novelty renditions as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,059 which replicas the form of an amphibious creature namely a frog.

While visually these renditions are in fact diametrically dissonant, they, like the vast majority of the past renderings reach the ground of resemblance in terms of functionality. Both the conservative rendering with its straightforward aesthetics, unique features and durability, along with the novelty type rendering with its droll appearance and unique features show how diverse the art can be in terms of look. But in terms of functionality there is rigidity to the idea that children's backpacks must be able to carry multiple items such as: books, clothing and food items and even toys.

In the past art the use of the backpack for a child who needs to carry a toy product has been interesting. U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,392 allows a child to carry a toy product on the outside of a backpack apparatus.

Interestingly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,550 shows a toy product with an attached compartment resembling that of a traditional backpack with a zipper closure. Although clearly a backpack, this rendition appears to have minimal usage as toy to play with. Its limitation as a play thing is mainly the result of the storage compartment.

Accordingly, it is with the intention of the present invention to offer a different functionality and also a different intent for the backpack. Backpacks are primarily conceptualized and manufactured for children of grade school age as they have notebooks, pencils, crayons, loose leafs, activity books and numerous other items to carry.

As such, an improvement to the stuffed toy and blanket combination will call for the toy to remain intact and will allow for full use as a toy while blanket is in full use. This will allow for a child to have a more enjoyable experience with the stuffed toy as a whole figure not in segmented parts as has been the case in the past art.

Also with the combination of a stuffed toy and blanket with the added element of a backpack aspect can make lives of parents easier as traditionally each of these items would have to be kept up with separately. It is also important to note that having three items in one namely a stuffed toy, a blanket and a backpack would make more economical sense than purchasing each separately.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Heretofore, the invention can only be described a stuffed toy combined with a blanket that can be transported on a child's or more generally a human being possessing the spirit of a child's back as of that of a backpack, hence its final description as such.

This invention relates to a stuffed toy character which generally and more particularly typifies a carrying case wherewith an attached blanket can be stored in the midsection of the stuffed toy character.

This rendition combines the stuffed toy and blanket and adds the element of backpack straps to enhance the experience of the preschool child by allowing easy transport of the toy figure itself. Many children in this age group esteem and highly admire their older siblings who have need for the more traditional functionality of the backpack as they need to transport many items of importance to satisfy the demands of the day.

This rendering will allow a child who may not yet be in need of transporting multiple items, which subsequently makes the need for the traditional rendering of the backpack unnecessary and unbeneficial. The use of the backpack straps on the stuffed toy and blanket combination is to allow the child to feel as if they have a functional backpack.

It is therefore the object of this invention to improve upon the conventional use of the backpack for a child by synthesizing a child's need for a blanket, as well as the desire for a toy product.

This invention does not seek to be utilized as a backpack for the primary purpose of carrying numerous items but rather to allow for a child to carry or transport the toy product itself.

Hence, the main purpose of the backpack as defined by this rendering is to primarily be the source enjoyment, amusement, entertainment and security for the child or for that matter any human being possessing the spirit of naiveté necessary to enjoy a stuffed toy having the ability to be transported on the back not for the main purpose of carrying multiple items per se but rather to have the enjoyment and security of such a toy figure readily available and easily accessible without the weight and burden.

Herewith it is of indispensably vivacious importance to declare that this rendering while engineered with the need of a nursery school child in mind, which subsequently interrupts the paradigm scope of the typical functionality of a backpack as a carrying device for children that needs multiple compartments for the storage of multiple items and the such, is not ultimately for the nursery school child alone, but rather any child or human being for that matter who can embrace the spirit of the nursery school level child who without necessity of many items can enjoy the appearance of a backpack without the burden of toting multiple items as the traditional paradigm suggests.

Heretofore, backpacks for children have been developed with the purpose and intent to provide adequate space in a material apparatus with the ability for that space to be utilized as storage, which subsequently, when used as such will then have a way and mean operationally to close up usually with a zipper, latch, Velcro, button or tying mechanism such as that of roping which can be manipulated as to create a knot and allow the contents placed as storage in the apparatus to be enclosed, compact and condensed as to make for a surface area that is deemed reasonable to allow toting on the back of the child.

This function of the backpack is adequate and necessary; however, the hope is to redefine or at the very least offer the idea that when the pragmatic use of the backpack is synthesized with the limpidness of the small child's needs or lack thereof, the use of the backpack as a carrying device becomes at best secondary in terms of functionality.

It is another object of this invention to allow a child easy transport of a toy product mimicking a backpack without the necessity of parental aide to carry such a toy as many children go through the stage of wanting to do everything themselves without help.

It is another object of this invention to allow for a toy product that can have seamless transition from a play thing to sleep thing to carry thing as the toy's primary function is a stuffed toy for play, secondary function to be used as a comforting mechanism for rest with attached blanket and cuddling of toy product, and the tertiary function will be that of a backpack.

It is another object of this invention to allow a hidden slot for one naptime or bedtime storybook.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of the front of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of the back parts of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a depiction of front of the invention with blanket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Referring now to the invention in detail, in FIG. 1 there is shown a stuffed toy 1. This stuffed toy 1, has two ears 2, two eyes 3, a nose 4, and a snout 5 which comprise the face of the stuffed toy 1. This stuffed toy 1, has two arms 11, and two paws 13. This stuffed toy 1, while being depicted here as a bear may be any character and is not limited to an animal. This stuffed toy 1, also has two legs 12, and two feet 14 which have a seam 10 which allow for the stuffed toy 1 to sit upright. This stuffed toy 1, has a belly flap 6 which hides the blanket 15. The belly flap 6 has on it soft Velcro strips 7 which attach to a rough Velcro 9 which is hidden under a belly flap lid 8 to avoid contact with a child's skin.

Referring now to the invention in detail, in FIG. 2 there is shown a stuffed toy 1. This view is a back view of said stuffed toy 1, with a rear head 16 which is fluffed with processed cotton in such a way that it is flat. The rear head 16 is supported by the neck 25 which is sewn tightly to keep the rear head 16 from moving any which way while a child is utilizing the stuffed toy 1 as a backpack. The backpack straps 17 are made of elastic and covered with the same material being used to make the stuffed toy 1. The backpack straps 17 are connected to the bear at an upper left strap slot 20, a lower left strap slot 22, an upper right strap slot 21, and a lower right strap slot 23. All four strap slots 20, 21, 22, 23 allows backpack straps 17 to be securely fastened to stuffed toy 1. Between the backpack straps 17 is a hidden book slot 18 which is a small pocket that allows for the placement of one story book which will accompany the stuffed toy 1. The stuffed toy 1 is supported by a fluff seam 24 that assists with stuffed toy 1 being able to sit upright.

Now referring to the invention in detail, in FIG. 3 there is shown stuffed toy 1, an attached blanket 15 that measures forty by thirty. On blanket 15, there are two seams, a diagonal seam 30 and a mid-seam 31 which play the role of offering folding guidance of blanket 15 into tummy 32. It is important to note that no special folds are necessary and blanket 15 may be placed into tummy 32 any way the user desires. On the blanket 15 are specific embroideries that are replicas of the stuffed toy 1. On the blanket 15, the embroideries should be seen as upper right embroidery 28, lower right embroidery 27, lower left embroidery 26 and the center embroidery 29. The blanket 15 connects to the stuffed toy 1 at the tummy latch 34 which securely fastens the blanket to the tummy 32. This stuffed toy 1, is still functional when the blanket 15 is taken out of the tummy 32 because of the posture fluff reservoir 33 which provides stuffed toy 1 with body support allowing it to keep form without blanket 15 being tucked in tummy 32.

The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation the allowances for full use of the stuffed toy while blanket is being used as there is no dependence on the blanket for structural support. There is no need for the softness of the body of the toy product to be compromised in any way while blanket is in full use or is just hanging out of stuffed toy. The toy can be easily transported on the back of a child utilizing the toy's backpack straps.

In broad embodiment, the present invention is a stuffed toy, with an attached blanket housed in the stuffed toy's tummy, which may be carried and or transported as a backpack.

While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed. 

1. A stuffed toy product whose midsection holds an attached blanket that fits into the toy's midsection, which has backpack straps designed into it allowing said stuffed toy to be utilized as a backpack for carrying the toy product itself if one so desires to do so.
 2. The stuffed toy product described in claim 1 wherein use of internal fluff reservoirs which are simply areas of compacted fluff material along the toy's rear which subsequently act as a backbone will allow for the enhancement of use of said toy as a play thing as the stuffed toy body's structure will be unaffected when attached blanket is in use or hanging outside of the midsection of said toy as the integrity of the body structure is totally independent of the blanket to give the toy its form.
 3. The stuffed toy product described in claim 2 wherein use of a belly flap to allow for discreet storage of a blanket, which said belly flap will have the capability of securing blanket as a result of Velcro along its edges.
 4. The stuffed toy product described in claim 3 wherein use of said toy has two material backpack straps manufactured into its rear body cavity with the ability to be utilized as mediums of transport most generally as that of a backpack on the user's back as hanging off the back of said user's shoulders.
 5. The stuffed toy product described in claim 3 wherein use of said toy will allow one storybook to fit into a small slot between the material backpack straps. 